


Pegasus High

by flitterflutterfly



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Crack, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-29 15:39:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pegasus High is a school that defies normality. Where the head cheerleader leads yoga classes, the football captain dates the president of the science club, and everyone is scared of the goths that call themselves Wraith. Around fighting off the Genii biker gang, studying for Carter’s physics quizzes, and trying not to barf up the cafeteria food, well the students of Pegasus’s inner group might even find the time to discover the lost city of Atlantis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How John Wooed Rodney

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so so sorry for another SGA high school fic. Really.
> 
> Every chapter is really it's own story, but it's all a connected universe, so... 
> 
> I'm done writing this story. There will be no more of it. I grow weary of high school fics, but I promised to put this up so I am.

Rodney McKay was a genius. That was a fact of life, of his life certainly. In fact, if he went to any other high school he would have demanded that he just be graduated so he could go to college already.

As it was, Pegasus High was unique enough to both suit his needs and his fantasies. Which is to say that Dr. Carter of his Physics II class not only challenged him intellectually, but she was also hot enough to keep his attention longer than any other blond he’d ever met. As it was, he didn’t usually like blondes. They tended to remind him too much of his mother, but Carter was special and so his crush remained strong.

Rodney was a freshman at Pegasus (and yes he was in Physics II as a freshman, he was a genius after all), but he’d known most of his classmates ever since middle school at Cheyenne Mountain. John Sheppard, the current bane of his teenage life, hadn’t gone to Cheyenne. No, John Sheppard’s family had moved to town just in time for him to start high school with the rest of them.

Rodney couldn’t help but be a little jealous at how easily the gangly teen had made friends. It had taken years for Weir to even look twice at Rodney and Carson was really the only one he could consider a best friend. Zelenka only tolerated him because of his success in the Science Club’s monthly science bowl tournaments and Peter Grodin was his physics lab partner but never spoke to him outside the class.

John Sheppard on the other hand, he made friends as easily as breathing. Not only was he the football team’s new running back (and even Rodney could admit there was nothing like watching Sheppard run, he practically flew across the field) but he was also hot. Not just run-of-the-mill buff type hot. No, he was all lithe and dark-haired leaning-on-doorways hot.

From day one, Rodney decided he wanted nothing to do with everyone’s new favorite freshman. Unfortunately, said favorite didn’t seem to have the same opinion of him.

John Sheppard was everywhere he looked. When he came to school early for the purpose of some quiet studying in the Farmland without his little sister nagging him, Sheppard was already there sleeping under the great tree. When he stayed after school for a Science Club meeting, Sheppard always seemed to have to do some extra tutoring with Dr. Carter (though Rodney noticed that he spent most of the time just watching the club, not doing his textbook questions). Even when he sat down for lunch, Sheppard never failed to sit right across from him, despite the fact that Rodney refused to ever acknowledge his existence.

This behavior went on for two months. The first couple weeks Rodney could almost convince himself that he was just being paranoid. But then it just kept getting more obvious, more ridiculous. Sheppard stared at him like Rodney was the only thing in the room and frankly it creeped him out. Rodney was sure the idiot was doing it just to annoy him and he hated how well it was working. His mantra to just ignore the other teen ran on loop in his head, but it was slowly losing strength.

Finally, one late October evening, Rodney snapped.

“That’s it!” Rodney threw down the dry erase marker that he’d been writing with and stomped over to Sheppard, who wasn’t even pretending to be working. “Come with me,” he snarled.

“Rodney,” Dr. Carter said, surprise in her tone. Rodney ignored her for once and dragged Sheppard out of the classroom by his arm.

Once they were in the hallway and far enough away from the door to not be overheard, Rodney let go of the football star, fuming.

“Who the hell do you think you are!” he screamed into Sheppard’s face. “I’ve had enough of you following me around. I’m a private person, thank you very much. Hell, you even seem to need to use the bathroom the same time I do, which is not only creepy, it’s frankly stalkerish.”

Sheppard at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. “Rodney,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

“Don’t you dare call me by my first name like we’re friends,” Rodney cut him off with a warning finger.

Sheppard actually rolled his eyes at that. “Technically, Rodney is your middle name. You’re first name is Meredith.”

“What?” Rodney blinked. “How did you know that?” He was going to kill whoever told the idiot what his first name was. He tried very hard to keep that embarrassing tidbit a secret.

“Your sister told me,” Sheppard shrugged.

“You’ve talked to my sister,” Rodney actually stopped yelling at that. “When did you talk to my sister?”

“Yesterday,” Sheppard told him with that annoying drawl of his. “She was waiting on the bench outside for you to take her home, but you never showed up so I gave her a ride.”

Oh, that’s why she’d been so snarky last night, Rodney thought to himself. “I thought it was tomorrow,” he defended himself, not liking the feeling of guilt that wormed his way into his gut. He tried to be a good older brother, he really did, but sometimes his work just didn’t seem to let him.

Jeannie understood, didn’t she? Rodney resolved to pick her up from Cheyenne on Friday and take her out to ice cream. It really wasn’t fair to make her walk all the way to Pegasus anyways.

But he’d gotten off topic. “Nevermind that, you still haven’t explained why you’ve been following me around.”

“It’s pretty arrogant to assume I’ve been following you, don’t you think McKay,” Sheppard drawled. “Maybe you’re just paranoid.”

Rodney huffed. “I’m a genius, flyboy. I know when someone’s been following me. You were in the hallway when I got out of my English class yesterday, but I know for a fact you had History that period, which is on the other end of the school.”

“Flyboy?” Sheppard asked instead.

Rodney felt himself blush a bit. Had he really said that? “Whatever, answer the question.”

“Why flyboy?” Sheppard seemed genuinely interested. Rodney could tell he wasn’t going to let it go and he cursed his slip of the mouth.

“Cause you look like you’re flying when you run, all right,” Rodney snapped. “God, you don’t need me to feed your ego. You already know how awesome you are at football and making friends and being hot and life in general.”

Rodney felt his face heat up to a bright red now. It just wasn’t fair. Sheppard already had everything: rich family, adoring fans, and too many friends to count. Why did he have to bother Rodney?

Sheppard straightened, looking at Rodney with an intense look that he couldn’t categorize. “You think I’m hot?”

Rodney threw his hands up in the air. “Seriously, did you just ask me that? Everyone thinks your hot, idiot. You even have your own fan club. The only reason you’re not buried by love letters is cause they all know you’re dating Teyla and no one could compete with her. I mean, cheerleader, yoga master, perpetual tan, and great boobs. She’s quite literally the most attractive girl in school.”

“I’m not dating Teyla,” Sheppard seemed surprised by that statement. “We’re just friends.”

“What?” Rodney frowned at him. “Well that’s stupid. Why aren’t you dating her? I’m sure she’d say yes if you asked her out.”

Sheppard chuckled, shaking his head. “You really don’t get it, McKay?”

“Get what?” Rodney crossed his arms now, glaring.

Sheppard actually sighed. “Do you honestly not know why I’ve been following you?” he looked a bit pained as he admitted to his crime. As he should be, Rodney thought.

“I wouldn’t ask if I knew,” Rodney told him, annoyed. “What, you want me to ask out Teyla for you?”

“That’s doesn’t even make sense,” Sheppard’s eyebrows furrowed together. “God, McKay, I don’t even like girls.”

Time paused. Rodney’s mouth dropped open and stayed there, his brain working faster than it ever had before.

Oh.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The following, the long looks, the mysterious extra pudding Rodney always seemed to find on his lunch tray when he looked away for just a second.

“Do you have a crush on me?” Rodney burst. He couldn’t help the hysterical laugh that escaped from his throat. He thought for sure that Sheppard was just doing it to annoy him, make him angry, distract him so that the team would lose the next science bowl (though that actually made no sense at all since Sheppard was supposed to root for the school’s team, not sabotage it).

Sheppard’s face had closed off and his shoulder’s had stiffened. “Thanks for laughing McKay, I know you don’t like me. No need to rub it in.” He sounded actually angry, but beneath that, Rodney could make out a crackle in his voice.

Rodney stopped laughing as quickly as he’d started, realizing how that must have looked. “Sheppard,” he began.

Sheppard turned away, walking away briskly. “Don’t bother,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll stop following you. Sorry to have upset your delicate sensibilities.”

Rodney watched after him, head rolling from the turn of events. Before he could make himself move, Sheppard was already gone.

And a new pit of guilt had wormed its way into his gut.

0o0o0o0

True to his word, Sheppard did stop following him. Rodney told himself that he didn’t mind, that it was better that way. But he couldn’t lie to himself as he sat alone at the lunch table, watching Sheppard laugh with his friends from the other side of the cafeteria.

It annoyed the hell out of him because that feeling of guilt never went away, even when Sheppard looked fine. He obviously hadn’t lost any sleep over Rodney’s accidental rejection. At least, Rodney could find no evidence that he had.

This bothered Rodney somehow. It bothered him more that he kept shooting glances behind him as he walked down the hall, trying to catch a glimpse of that stupid hair that never seemed to lay flat, only to remember that Sheppard wasn’t following him anymore. It bothered him so much that he actually asked his sister about it.

“I don’t get it, Jeannie,” Rodney groaned. “Why do I care what the idiot does in his free time? So what if he doesn’t stalk me around school anymore?”

Jeannie gave him a look of utter exasperation. “Come on, Mer.”

“What?” Rodney flopped back on her bed, staring at the glowing stickers shaped like constellations that Jeannie had put on her ceiling when she was ten.

“You like him,” Jeannie told him in a sing-song voice.

“No I don’t!” Rodney denied immediately.

Jeannie snorted. “Yeah, right. You so do.”

“Do not!”

“Do to!”

“Do not!”

“Do to!”

“Do not!”

“Do not!”

“Do to!”

“Hah,” Jeannie said triumphantly.

Rodney cursed himself for falling for the elementary school trick and sighed. “Okay, fine, what if you’re right. Oh god, Jeannie, I rejected him. He probably doesn’t even like me anymore. What do I do?” Rodney was panicking. He’d never had anyone like him before. And he actually did like Sheppard back.

Cause hell, but Sheppard looked like a god when he flew across the field. And he had stopped drinking orange juice at lunch ever since Rodney had complained that the smell was making him sick cause he was allergic thank you very much (though Rodney would have dealt with the smell if Sheppard would only eat with him again). And Rodney had broken into the records to find proof that Sheppard was just as much of an idiot as he looked only to find that he was getting a 100 in Calculus and a 98 in Physics (Physics I, not II, but no one was perfect). Only Rodney was in Calculus as a freshman, or so he’d thought.

Rodney threw his arm over his eyes, hating his life in that instance because what did he do when a not-as-stupid-as-he-looks and ridiculously attractive football star practically throws himself at you (ignoring the fact that Sheppard had actually never admitted to liking Rodney, but Rodney could connect the dots). What did he do? He laughed.

Maybe Rodney was actually the idiot.

He didn’t like that thought.

“Just tell him, Mer,” Jeannie said in her infinite middle school wisdom.

Oh.

He could do that.

Thanking his sister (and how often did he do that?), Rodney left the room and planned a strategy for winning back his true love (well crush, at least).

Rodney spent the weekend (because for once they didn’t have a science bowl tournament) making many masterful plans on how to woo his crush. Or woo back. Could stalking be counted as wooing? Rodney shook his head, realizing he’d mentally got off topic and reviewed his list.

  1. Kidnap Sheppard and hold him hostage (except Rodney didn’t know what to do after he kidnapped the teen. And how was he to kidnap Sheppard anyways, the football player was way stronger than him. Rodney could hardly be considered an athlete.) Scratch that plan.
  2. Write a note and pass it across class (not a bad plan. Only problem was Rodney didn’t actually have any classes with Sheppard. And he could hardly pass the note all the way across the cafeteria, it was too much of a risk that someone would open it.)
  3. Sneak into Sheppard’s house in the middle of the night and lay naked in his bed (Rodney figured he must have been smoking crack when he wrote down number three.)
  4. Crash the next karaoke party and sing Sheppard a love song (but Rodney couldn’t sing to save his life and he couldn’t be sure that Sheppard would actually be at the next karaoke party.)
  5. Man up and tell him in person.



Rodney sighed and circled number five. What a wasted weekend, he thought as he went to bed Sunday night, paper clutched in his hand.

0o0o0o0

It was Monday and Rodney went to school with butterflies in his stomach (though that was anatomically impossible, at least live butterflies) and the resolve to see his rather simple plan to the end.

A part of Rodney hoped that Sheppard would be sick, or perhaps he would avoid him and therefore Rodney wouldn’t get the chance to say anything to him. The other part reminded himself of the man-up clause of his plan.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Sheppard was easy to spot talking to Teyla in the Farmland. Taking a resolving breath, Rodney stepped into the courtyard and walked straight towards the other teen. They both saw him approach and before Rodney reached them, Teyla had left with only a good, menacing stare to Rodney.

Rodney ignored the stare (actually he flinched at it, but he didn’t let it stop him because he was a man, thank you very much) and stopped directly in front of Sheppard.

“McKay,” Sheppard greeted with just a bit of ice in his tone.

Rodney opened his mouth, intent on just saying it and getting it over with, but he found that he couldn’t force the words past his throat. He closed his mouth, gulped dryly, then tried again. But, it seemed that his body wasn’t on his side and his tongue refused to move.

Sheppard crossed his arms and leaned back against the tree behind him. “What do you want, McKay? Come to make fun of me for being gay?”

Rodney flushed. “No!” he blurted, suddenly able to speak. “God, I didn’t mean to laugh at you. I mean, I wasn’t even laughing at you, I was laughing at. Well yes, okay it was kind of at you, but it wasn’t because of, well actually it was because you’d been following me, but I was laughing kind of at myself too, because what could someone like you see in someone like me, but its not because you’re gay cause that’d be hypocritical since I’m gay or rather not gay but bisexual cause I like girls to, but also guys and-”

“McKay,” Sheppard cut in.

Rodney’s whole face turned as red as a tomato but he straightened his back. “Call me Rodney.”

Sheppard raised an eyebrow. “What are you playing at?”

Rodney bit his lip. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for laughing, I just couldn’t comprehend someone like you liking someone like me, and I was really scared because I didn’t want to like you back.”

“Why?” Sheppard’s tone was gentler now, his eyes dark.

“Because you’re hot and athletic and even marginally intelligent,” Rodney snapped. “And I’m not hot or athletic and yes I’m a genius but most people don’t see me as someone who’s at all dateable.”

“Their loss,” Sheppard shrugged and then straightened up off the tree, leaning now forward instead of back. “Are you saying you like me, Rodney?”

Rodney didn’t know how else to put it so he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned forward the rest of the way and met his lips to Sheppard’s, or rather John’s (he figured that if he was going to kiss the teen, he should at least use his first name).

John didn’t move and Rodney pulled back, mortified. “Sorry!” he raised his hands as if to defend himself. “Sorry, that was stupid, you obviously rethought your feelings and you realized that I’m not a good catch at all.” A sudden thought hit him and Rodney gasped. “Oh, no, maybe you never liked me in the first place and I was being paranoid and making something out of nothing and now you’re gonna punch me cause you think I’m a geek who just kissed you and who you don’t like at all and maybe hate!”

John stared at him, open-mouthed. And then he laughed.

Rodney knew then what John must have felt the other day and his blush deepened to an almost crimson color.

But then John was grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him closer. And they were kissing again, all at once in each other’s space.

When John finally let him go, Rodney felt absolutely mussed, lips probably swollen and eyes wide.

“Wanna be my boyfriend?” John asked.

All Rodney could do was nod (cause kissing apparently fried his brain and he’d have to make sure that they didn’t do that before the science bowl tournament next weekend or Zelenka would be so mad at him).

John snorted as if reading his thoughts and pulled him in for another kiss.


	2. Rodney's Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for very bad math porn. Very bad.

“I’m in trouble,” Rodney flopped down on his sister’s bed, frowning.

“Don’t you knock?” Jeannie groaned, quickly closing the window on her computer.

“I already know about your porn collection, Jean,” Rodney told her. “And seriously, is two guys making out really an appropriate picture for your photo gallery?”

“Shut up,” Jeannie blushed bright red. “And get out.”

“I’m in love with John,” Rodney said instead.

Jeannie blinked twice at him. “Good for you.”

Rodney sighed in frustration. “No, you don’t get it. He doesn’t know.”

“Well then tell him,” Jeannie threw her hands up in the air in a similar fashion to Rodney’s signature move. “And leave me alone.”

“Jeannie!” Rodney whined. “I can’t just tell him out of the blue. It has to be special.”

Jeannie rolled her eyes at him. “Mer,” she said seriously. “You’re in high school. The statistics of high school sweethearts staying together is like-”

“I know the statistics,” Rodney snapped. “But I love John and maybe we won’t last forever, but I want to try because goddammit Jeannie I can’t imagine life without him.”

Jeannie stared at him. “Wow, Mer, that’s deep.”

Rodney flushed and stood. “You know what, I’m leaving. Obviously asking my little sister for help was a stupid idea.”

“No no,” Jeannie shooed him back down. “If you really want to tell him someway special, then I guess you have to ask me. Knowing you, you’d mess it up otherwise.”

Rodney graced her with a rare smile, until his brain caught up and he scowled. “Well?”

“Okay,” Jeannie crossed her arms, seeming to ponder the issue for a moment. “So what do you have in common?”

“Other than Atlantis?” Rodney asked.

“Yes, other than Atlantis,” Jeannie rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me that’s the only thing you guys talk about.”

“It’s not,” Rodney said, surprised. Actually, they had a lot of things in common. “We both like Dr. Who, strategy games, race cars, cats,” Rodney paused and suddenly flashed to an image of John’s hand gliding over a paper, his eyes intense as he concentrated. “When he writes math theorems it’s like porn.”

Jeannie glanced at her computer with a disbelieving look on her face. “If you say so,” she said as if to appease him. “But you can hardly declare your love through math.”

Except Rodney had stood, pointing at her with one finger. “That’s it!”

And then he ran out the room, ignoring her call for him to explain.

Rodney and John had been dating for nine months already and to Rodney’s surprise they were also the best of friends. While Rodney could consider all of the Atlantians friends, none of them compared to John. No one compared to John, not even the super hot, super smart Dr. Carter.

Determined to let John know, because it was really unfair to keep his change of feelings secret, Rodney had fretted all day about how to tell him. The answer was so simple. Grabbing pen and paper, Rodney planned his equation.

The next day at school dawned with Rodney sitting anxiously in the Calculus classroom, an hour before the first class started. The text he’d sent John hadn’t been answered, but he wasn’t too worried.

Right on time, the door opened and in walked his boyfriend. Rodney stood from the desk, but found he could move forward to greet the lithe teen. Couldn’t move at all.

John saw him and started towards him. Rodney gulped, shirt suddenly too tight.

“Rodney,” John said, reaching him and wrapping him up in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

Rodney buried his head in John’s warm shoulder for just a moment, before he stepped back and pointed one shaking hand towards the whiteboard.

John turned and saw the equation, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as his eyes scanned over the inequality.

“Rodney,” John started.

“Please, John,” Rodney said, voice squeaking in the unattractive nature of teenage boys. “Just solve it.”

Rodney had made it complicated enough that the answer was not inherently evident from a single glance. John looked at him for a moment longer before he nodded and walked up to the board. He stood for about a minute, just staring, and then all of the sudden he grabbed a marker and began his elegant scrawl.

Rodney leaned back against the desk and watched him work. Strangely, the sight of John solving his equation calmed him. John was beautiful when he did math. So beautiful, so perfect, so his.

Math is what made him realize his feelings, after all. Looking at John as he’d done the mathematical theorem that backed up his theory on wormholes, watching his hand glide across the paper, his whole being as devoted to those numbers as he looked when on the football field, when sitting on the pier at Atlantis, when looking at Rodney. Rodney had seen that and his breath had caught in his throat and he’d realized quickly suddenly what that skip in his heart meant.

The answer wasn’t the only part of the equation. No, Rodney had made every step a confession. The left side of the inequality was a complex fraction. All the numbers were prime, they described each of the Atlantians that Rodney was close to, but surrounding those numbers, needing to be distributed in, was 2, the only prime even number, the number the was John and Rodney. But it was under a square root, the restrictions of high school life. In the end, it was left with a negative. An impossibility, there is no such thing as a negative under a square root, it’s imaginary. Just like John and Rodney, they surpassed the restrictions.

John solved that side first and Rodney could tell by the tilt of his head that he got the meaning. The inequality faced to the right, it being bigger by the laws of math. Rodney didn’t want that to change and John simply copied it down as he started on the remaining side.

The right side was an integral, but just like the square root the inside was in need of solving first. It was a matrix, the function of life. Showing how Rodney couldn’t live without John, and it ended in 3.0. The 30th of October was when they first got together, their anniversary. Today too was the 30th, though Rodney hadn’t factored that in too much.

The integral itself had to first be substituted with a u, but that was what Rodney was aiming for anyways. u could be so many things, you, us, united, understood. It was all wrapped up in that simple variable.

Rodney took a deep breath as John wrote the answer, boxing it like he did for all his problems. The football star closed the cap on the marker and set it down, before he turned slowly.

Rodney saw first the smile that tugged at the corners of John’s mouth, and then he saw his eyes and Rodney’s world brightened.

“Me too,” John said.

And then Rodney found himself being kissed within an inch of his life, eyes catching one more look at the answer to his equation before he was filled only with John.

_i <3 u_


	3. New Kid

Evan Lorne was the new kid in town and like any new 17 year old would tell you, the first couple of days could mean the difference between a successful high school experience full of parties, dates, and sleeping through class. Or it could mean hell.

What made the difference was the clique you joined. Every high might have similarities in archetypes, but archetypes were usually were it ended. Where at one school the jocks might rule, another the skating stoners might have the final say. Choosing a group was what Evan needed to do, and do quickly or else be branded as a perpetual outsider.

Since his parents assured him that this school, Pegasus High, was the one he’d finally be graduating from, well Evan was determined to make a good choice and a good choice fast. And so, as he walked in and met the principle, he pushed aside any of his usual preference and began to observe.

“Ah, here he is Mr. Lorne,” Principle Landry said, gesturing to the teen who’d just walked into the office. “This is David Parrish,” Mr. Landry introduced as the kid stopped next to them. “David’s going to show you around before lunch, and then you’ll have to go to your first class which will be,” he looked at Evan’s schedule, “History with Dr. Jackson.”

Dr. Jackson? Evan thought in his mind but he just nodded and accepted the schedule. “Thank you, sir,” he called politely as Landry shooed them both out.

“Um, hi,” David Parrish murmured as they walked into the large hallway. “Evan, right?”

Evan glanced at him, immediately cataloging the thin frame and bulging backpack as nerd. “And you’re David.”

“Yes,” David smiled brightly, the look lighting up his pale face. “So,” he looked at Evan through a shy sidelong glance. “Welcome to Pegasus, I guess.”

Evan followed, slightly bemused as David took him down to the end of the hall and outside. The first thing he saw as they stepped through the double doors was a large, grassy courtyard. On one end was what looked to be a large garden, complete with grape vines and even pumpkins. On the other was another set of double doors, next to which was a group of pale, dark haired teens slouching in the shadows. In the center was a giant tree, underneath of which a tan babe led a rather large group in what seemed to be a yoga lesson.

“This is the Farmland,” David explained.

“Farmland?” Evan coughed. “It’s a courtyard.”

“Well, yes,” David flushed, “but that’s what we call it. It’s what we’ve always called it.”

Evan let it go with, “okay.” His eyes went back to the tan girl who was now in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. It was kind of funny to watch the others try, and fail, to copy her.

Seeing the direction of Evan’s gaze, David said, “that’s Teyla Emmagen, she’s the head cheerleader, but she’s also in charge of the yoga club. They’re called the Athosians.”

David nodded as Teyla waved, blushing a bit. Evan saw and couldn’t help but ask. “You have the hots for her?”

David whipped his head around, eyes wide. “What? No!” he shook his head. “No, she’s nice but um, no, I don’t like girls.”

Nice? Was Evan’s first thought. He’d never found a school where anyone considered the head cheerleader to be nice. Then his brain caught up and he gaped. “You don’t like girls,” he repeated.

David gave him a strange look. “Um, no,” he said hesitantly. “It’s actually, uh, kind of common here.”

“It’s common not liking girls?” Evan blinked.

David shrugged and nodded. “Anyways, that,” he waved towards the garden, “that’s where the Gardening and Agriculture Club meets. I’m president of that,” he quickly explained. “Well, co-president actually, Katie Brown helps.”

“Agriculture, huh?” Evan asked, glad to get off the topic of girls for the moment.

“Yep, I like plants,” David’s face relaxed as he looked over the garden. “I want to be a botanist when I grow up, though a biologist might be fine too.” He bit his lip. “A lot of students here are into agriculture, actually. Most of the Athosians join us on our weekend meetings.”

This school is officially weird, Evan told himself as he tried to assimilate all the new information. “So, um,” he looked around, trying to find something he could recognize. Something normal. “The goths, over there? They all look strangely similar.”

David glanced over at the figures in the shadow and then looked away quickly, face paling. “Those are the Wraith,” he whispered. “Whatever you do, man, don’t get on their bad side. They’re pure evil.”

Evan nearly dismissed the teen’s horror as fake, but he knew what fear looked like and David had real fear in his eyes. Okay, he thought, so the goths bully the geeks. That’s a new one.

Shaking his head, Evan gave David a pat on the back. “Don’t worry kid, I can take care of myself.”

David didn’t look too reassured, but he nodded and led them on. Soon they were back in the building, passing classrooms right and left. “Let me see your schedule,” David said. When Evan handed it over, he scanned it quickly. “Okay, cool so Dr. Jackson is a real good teacher.”

“Is he really a doctor?” Evan interrupted.

“Oh yes,” David nodded. “He has a degree in anthropology, but man his lectures are just fascinating!”

Evan blinked. “Okay,” he agreed mildly.

David looked back at his schedule. “Oh, you have Mr. Lee for science. Too bad, Carter is so much better. Oh well, can’t get all the good ones I guess. Oh, but Mitchell for P.E. He’s close with the football coach, you know, so if you’re interested…” David trailed off.

“What’s the football team like?” Evan asked, honestly curious.

“Well, Coach O’Neill is pretty intimidating, but all the team seems to like him,” David shrugged. “John Sheppard is the captain, has been ever since Sumner graduated.”

The way David said graduated made it sound like there was a story there, but Evan didn’t press it. “They any good?”

David nodded. “Oh yeah, we win loads of games. Go, Ancients,” he chuckled at himself.

“Ancients?” Evan asked. “The mascot is an Ancient? What the hell is an Ancient?”

David look surprised at the question. “Oh, um, they’re like gods, I guess. I mean, only sort of. It’s hard to explain. You should ask Dr. Jackson.”

Evan raised both eyebrows. “Okkaaay,” he said. “So, the football team is good.”

David nodded. “They’re pretty cool, too. Bates, he’s one of the linemen, his parents threw this big party after the last game and we had a great time. They have a pool, you know. It’s pretty sweet.”

“You went,” Evan looked at his companion suspiciously. Nerdy plant-liking kids weren’t usually welcome at football player’s parties unless they were there for entertainment. And not the good kind.

Evan found himself a bit surprised at how that bothered him. Hell, but he was starting to like the kid and the thought of him getting tossed around was actually displeasing.

David didn’t seem to notice his frown as he kept talking. “Uh huh, I went. I mean, Sheppard was there so of course that meant Rodney had to go. And Rodney hates being surrounded only by idiots, or so he says, so he always gets the rest of us in the Science Club to come.”

“You’re in the Science Club, too?” Evan’s lips twitched with the urge to smile. Why am I not surprised, he thought.

David was practically bouncing as they walked now. “Rodney, that’s Rodney McKay, he’s president and he gets anyone who likes science to join. Well except for some of the Genii, he hates the Genii.”

“Who are the Genii?” Evan asked now.

David stopped bouncing suddenly and looked around. He leaned a bit closer to Evan. “They’re the biker gang, led by Koyla. Well, technically Cowen is in charge, but everyone knows that Koyla’s the real leader. They hate our group, have ever since Sheppard and Koyla got into that fight last year.”

Evan filed away the information that David considered the football/science people as one group and instead focused on this new gossip. “What happened?”

David bit his lip. “No one really knows exactly, they don’t talk about it.”

Now Evan was really interested. “What do you now?” he pressed.

David glanced around one more time and leaned even closer in until their breaths were almost mingling. Evan felt a tingle go down his spine, but he ignored it.

“It was during that hurricane last year and Rodney was on the pier with Elizabeth Weir,” David started. “Some of the Genii started messing with them, but it was dangerous cause they were out in the storm. Then Sheppard shows up, or so I hear, and beats all the bikers so that Rodney and Weir can escape. But Koyla was there and,” David paused. “Well, all I know is that Rodney has a scar on his arm that he doesn’t like to talk about, which is weird cause Rodney always talks about himself. And Koyla came to school the next day with his shoulder and arm in a cast.”

That actually sounded serious. Evan suddenly had a new kind of respect for this John Sheppard, taking on the lead biker like that. A sudden thought hit him and he had to ask, “Are Sheppard and Rodney, uh McKay, are they together?”

“Oh yeah,” David said without missing a beat as he stepped back out of Evan’s space. “Totally. Have been practically since Sheppard showed up, our freshman year. I mean, he wasn’t from our middle school, Cheyanne Mountain Middle School that is, but he fit right in hear at Pegasus.”

Now, Evan didn’t have a problem with gay kids. In fact, he was actually considered one of them at his old high school cause of that one disastrous hand job in the locker room. He liked girls, too, but sometimes a guy’s got to experiment. Still, to hear that the football captain and the president of the Science club were dating said so flippantly, well Evan’s head spun just a little.

“Who’s Elizabeth Weir,” Evan asked to get off that subject.

“Oh, she’s the class president. And captain of the Speech and Debate team. She’s really good, won all sorts of awards,” David said with what might have been considered a bit of admiration. “She’s been in our group, too, ever since Sheppard joined. At first we all thought she had a crush, but that’s silly cause she never dates.” David shook his head.

They were at the end of the hallway now and David stopped, not opening the door. “So, that’s really it. I mean, the school has other parts. Whatever you do, don’t go near the Hive, that’s where the Wraith hang and even the Genii avoid it. It’s on the south end.”

More Wraith. Though hearing that the Genii even didn’t mess with them gave Evan a whole new kind of chill. “Okay, no Hive, got it.”

“Oh, and,” David looked at Evan’s schedule that he still held. “Woolsey for English, huh. He’s kind of a stick in the mud, but if you get on his good side he’ll ignore it if you didn’t read all the chapters you were supposed to.” He paused. “You’re not in a math?”

“They said there were no classes open,” Evan said. “But since I was already in Pre-Calc and Trig at my last school I just have to take Calc next semester and I’ll be fine.”

David seemed kind of stunned. “Do you like math?” he asked a bit hesitantly.

“It’s okay,” Evan shrugged.

“Oh,” David seemed a bit disappointed. Evan wondered why.

“I like art,” Evan offered. “My mom’s an art teacher,” he quickly explained.

David smiled slowly. “Ah,” he said. “Well, you have Vala for Painting II. That’ll be cool, cause she’s badass. Call her Vala, not miss or Mrs. Or anything. She hates that.”

“If you say so,” Evan took back his schedule, barely glancing at it. “So, what now?”

David shifted his weight, looking suddenly nervous. “Um, lunch is about to start.”

Evan checked the clock over their heads. The numbers read 12:15. “We’ll good, cause I’m starved.”

David wasn’t meeting his eyes all of the sudden. “Um, so…”

Evan raised an eyebrow. “Something else?”

David took a deep breath and tightened the left strap of his backpack as if preparing himself for something. “If you want, I mean, well you might want to hang our with someone else, but see I wouldn’t mind…” David paused and then said all at once. “Youwanttoeatlunchwithme?”

David’s face was bright red by now and Evan took pity on him. “I’d like to eat lunch with you, if that’s cool.”

David smiled so brightly that he could have lit up the whole hallway. Evan’s heart skipped a beat and, to his utter mortification, he actually felt his cheeks go red. Oh great, he thought, well looks like that’s settled. At least I can get to know the weird group first.

Decided then, David opened the door just as the bell rang. They were the first in line for food. At least that never changed, cafeteria food was the same no matter where you were. David took them to a large table in the middle and sat down. It only took about ten minutes for the table to fill up around them.

“Who’s this, Parrish?” a dark haired, rather buff teen asked as he sat next to David, eying Evan suspiciously.

“Evan Lorne, he’s new,” David answered immediately. “Evan, this is Dean Bates.”

Evan recognized the name and gave the football player a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

Bates grunted and turned to his food. Evan raised an eyebrow at David, but before the other teen could say anything loud voices caused Evan to turn to the cafeteria line.

“Are you trying to kill me!” a slender boy with curly blond haired told the cafeteria lady, who merely rolled her eyes and walked away.

“Just get the cookie, Rodney,” the lanky boy next to the teen said with what seemed to be an air of fond exasperation.

“But I wanted the pudding!” Rodney, probably Rodney McKay Evan thought, whined. “It’s pudding day.”

“And the pudding has citrus, big whoop,” the other sighed. “Come on, Rodney, you’re holding up the line.”

McKay pouted, but he said nothing as the other placed the cookie on his tray and continued on. By the time the two were at the table, McKay was on to a different conversation.

“And really, since you refuse to go to any chess tournaments, it proves my point,” McKay declared, sliding into the seat diagonally across from Evan. The other sat down next to him and sighed.

“Just because I don’t have time for your stupid tournaments doesn’t mean I’m a cheater,” he said. “And just because I beat you last night doesn’t mean you can argue your way out of our bet.”

David sniggered as McKay blushed brightly and mumbled something. Evan blinked, but then the other was turning to him. “Hello, you’re the new kid right? I’m John Sheppard.”

“Hi,” Evan said somewhat dumbly. Then his brain caught up and he grinned. “I thought betting was against school rules?”

Sheppard snorted in his milk. “This kind certainly is,” he agreed.

McKay blushed harder. “Shut up,” he snapped and then turned fiery blue eyes on Evan. “I was hoping you’d be at least marginally intelligent but I can already tell that you’ll be making some stupidly heroic move in our next football game, so I don’t know why I bother with hoping at all!”

Evan blinked. “Thanks McKay,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you to.”

McKay huffed. “Well of course you already know who I am, you’ve been tagging Derek like a dog, I assume. Figures. Just don’t go seducing him before we have our big science meet next Friday, I need him to answer all those stupid questions about plants.”

‘Derek’ Evan mouthed to David. David rolled his eyes and whispered in Evan’s ear. “He forgets everyone’s name, except John that is. Don’t be offended if he calls you Ian or something.”

Evan chocked on his mystery meat and nodded.

“So, why’d you leave your old high school?” Bates asked with narrow eyes.

Evan reeled a bit at the hostility. “I’m an army rat,” he said without thinking. “This is actually my third high school.”

“Oh, great,” McKay groaned, but he didn’t elaborate.

“My dad’s ex-Navy,” Sheppard offered. “But me, I want to join the Air Force.”

“Me too,” Evan said, surprised. “I want to fly.”

Sheppard’s eyes widened. “Yeah, that’s my reason exactly.”

“Mr. Lorne?” a rather professional sounding voice inquired. Evan turned to see a petite girl sit down next to him.

“Yes?” Evan asked.

“I’m Elizabeth Weir,” she held out her hand. “I welcome you to our humble school on behave of all of us Atlantians.”

Evan shook it numbly. “Atlantians?”

“Oh, that’s right,” David gave him a meek smile. “That’s our group here.” He gestured to include the now massive number of people sitting at the center table. “Sheppard and the football team, and the Science Club, oh and that’s Carson Beckett and Jennifer Keller who’re interning under the school nurse. All of us here, we’re the Atlantians.”

“Why Atlantians?” Evan said, looking from face to face.

“It’s after our hangout, Atlantis,” David said with a suddenly nervous look at both Weir and Sheppard.

Everyone at the center table was watching them, waiting for something it seemed. Sheppard’s eyes went to Weir’s but after a brief moment he trained them back on Evan.

“You’re welcome to join us, if you want,” Sheppard said finally with a lazy grin.

Evan wasn’t fooled, he could feel the weight of that assessment. Sheppard might look kind of lithe, for lack of a better word, but he’d beaten the biker leader, seemed to have no trouble keeping up with his brainiac boyfriend, and everyone was waiting for his judgment, even Weir.

Well, Evan thought, looks like I’ve found my clique. No choice now.

But really, he didn’t think he minded that much.

“I’d love too.”

And with that, Evan was an official student at Pegasus High.


	4. Forever Running

John Sheppard had been accused of many things in his short life, but cocksucker, however accurate, was not one of them. He’d just kissed his boyfriend, Rodney McKay, goodbye when he’d heard the comment. Luckily, Rodney had already disappeared to his first class otherwise the Science Club President would have most certainly exploded.

“Excuse me?” John turned to look at the tall teen who’d spoken.

The kid was not just tall; he was monstrous. He didn’t have the normal build of a high schooler, more like that of a bodybuilder. The tanned skin, sporadic scars, and dreadlocked hair only added to his whole barbarian image.

The teen looked at John with his arms crossed. “I asked, are you a cocksucker?”

“Who are you?” John asked instead of answering. His sex life with his boyfriend was not up for discussion thank you very much. Besides, putting aside his shock at the bluntness of the insulting question, John was curious. He thought he knew everyone at Pegasus High and he was sure he would have remembered someone so exotic looking.

The stranger grunted. “I’m new.”

Okay, Captain Obvious, John though to himself. “You know, you’re the second new kid we’ve had this month. You don’t by chance know Evan Lorne, do you?”

The teen shook his head, hair flying around his shoulders as he did so. It was a lot of hair, John noted with something akin to admiration. He rubbed his own spiky hair and thought briefly of his boyfriend’s blond curls. Now that was some hair, soft to touch and silky between his fingers.

“You didn’t answer my question,” the new teen interrupted his fantasy with a scowl.

Before John could tell him that it was none of his business, Teyla approached them at a brisk walk, which was as close to hurrying the head cheerleader ever go to. “John!” she called out as she neared them.

John turned to her, smiling easily, mismatching the annoyance in his eyes. “Hey Teyla, have you met the newest member of our lovely high school?”

Teyla only glanced once at the stranger, expression unreadable. “I have,” she said simply. “Ronon, the principal wishes to discuss more with you and he has asked that I show you around.”

The teen, Ronon gave John a smirk, which John ignored. “Teyla?” he asked, sensing something more was going on here.

Teyla reached over to him and put their foreheads together in her family’s strange way of hugging. “I shall explain later,” she promised softly.

John nodded as she left with the exotic Ronon.

That day at lunch Teyla came alone. By now, the whole group had heard of the newest member of Pegasus and they were curious. Teyla waited until all the senior members were situated around her before she began.

“As you may have heard,” Teyla started slowly. “We have a new classmate.”

Everyone glanced at Evan, who smiled at them all sardonically. Though he’d only been with them for a couple of weeks, he already fit in well with the Atlantians. He’d fallen in love with Atlantis just like the rest of them and John didn’t regret bringing him into their fold. With Ronon, he had a couple more reservations.

“Who is he really?” John asked.

“Ronon Dex,” Teyla told him. “We are related, though distantly.”

“You’re related?” Rodney asked, looking up at Teyla from across the table. “Is he hot too?”

John glared at his boyfriend and the surrounding Atlantians laughed. Not Teyla though, she merely smiled a bit sadly.

“He is living with my family, which is why he has transferred to Pegasus,” Teyla informed them.

“He’s living with you?” John knew he sounded incredulous, but he was quite simply shocked.

Elizabeth looked contemplative at the news, but it was Dean Bates that looked the least happy. “What, so his family just gave him up?”

“His entire family was killed in a fire that destroyed half of his hometown,” Teyla glared at Bates.

Zelenka hissed softly. His own family had migrated from Russia when their town had been destroyed, though he would never tell just what it was that had destroyed it. He still had his parents, but he’d lost many of his extended family.

“Where’s the lad now?” Carson asked, looking concerned.

John looked over at Rodney who was concentrating on his food. He didn’t look too sympathetic, but John also noted the tenseness in his shoulders. Though Rodney’s family was far from perfect, he did love his sister Jeannie. John himself wasn’t close with his father or his brother and he wondered briefly what it would be like to just suddenly lose them both.

“With the principal,” Teyla was saying.

“We’re happy to welcome him to our group,” Elizabeth said, speaking for all of them. “But I will have to insist on observing him for a little while before we decided on whether or not we think it wise to take him to Atlantis.”

“I am not asking for you to show him our city,” Teyla said. “But I do thank you for making his transition easier.”

City was a strong word, since Atlantis was more of ruins than anything else, but out of deference to what she’d once been all the Atlantians called her such. John nodded in agreement to both Elizabeth and Teyla.

Though he’d accepted Evan after only a day, the new football player hadn’t seen Atlantis until just this past weekend. And Ronon was different than Evan. Though it was a bit mean, they wouldn’t risk their city for someone who they couldn’t trust not to be volatile. Even Teyla seemed wary of her newest family member.

Decided then on a course of action, the Atlantians returned their attention back to lunch.

0o0o0o0

Only two days after first meeting Ronon’s, John found himself at school earlier than normal with nothing to do. He was going to meet Rodney, but Jeannie had asked last minute for him to drop her off at the middle school and so John was left alone.

Frowning, John looked at the early morning sun and decided that he might as well run around the track. Football season was starting again soon and he needed to keep a high level of endurance to double with his fast sprint. His running ability was one of the reasons he’d been made captain after all.

When John reached the track, he found it occupied. Not that only one person could run on it, but it surprised him to see a figure come around the back corner. Frowning, John set down his back and stripped off his jacket, leaving only a t-shirt, as he stepped on the track. He then stared straight ahead, centering himself, before he took off in a fast sprint.

There was nothing quite like running to John. The faster he ran, the closer he came to flying and flying was what he wanted to do. What he’d always wanted to do. He’d never been in the cockpit of a plane, but he imagined it would feel like running only faster, better, because he wouldn’t be confined to the ground.

So John pushed himself to run as fast as he could, no longer paying attention to his track mate as he sprinted the mile then slowed to a jog for another half, sprinting the last half and slowing again.

Just as he slowed, he heard quick footsteps behind him and the track mate revealed himself, matching John’s step besides him. It was Ronon.

John ignored him for another quarter of a mile, not wanting to deal with the teen as he ran, but Ronon matched him even when he did a quick sprint then slowed once more.

Finally, John let out a deep breath.

Ronon seemed to take that as an invitation. “Do you always run in the morning?”

“No,” John said. “You?”

“Yeah,” Ronon said.

There was silence then Ronon said. “It helps me-” he closed his mouth quickly as if he hadn’t meant to say that.

John looked in the distance. A man was walking his dog, talking happily with what seemed to be his daughter. The girl was young, too young for school, smiling up at her dad as if he was the only thing in the world.

“I feel like I’m flying,” John offered. “When I run, it’s like there’s no expectations or obligations.”

Ronon nodded slowly. “No one asking you how you feel.”

“No worries,” John continued. “No pressure.”

“No pain,” Ronon stopped suddenly and John did too, startled.

“What?” John asked, confused.

Ronon looked at him for a moment, then shook his head harshly. “I’ve got to go.”

John watched him run off, slightly irritated. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but Ronon wasn’t behaving in any way he could understand.

“Screw it,” he muttered and took off in a sprint back around the track.

0o0o0o0

John didn’t talk to Ronon again for another week. The other teen sat at their lunch table, but he ate his food with even more vigor than Rodney and never responded to anyone trying to bring his in for conversation.

John did notice him shooting Evan a glance as the football player slapped Parrish on the back of the head. John wondered when they were going to finally admit that they were dating, it was fairly obvious that they liked each other.

He entertained the thought that Ronon was homophobic.

John got the chance to ask the next morning. He’d come early again, but this time on purpose. Football practice was starting an hour before school, and John liked to warm up on the track before he went to join his team.

Ronon was there again and this time John waited until he was close enough before he started running, slowing down his initial sprint to match the other.

“I have a question for you,” John said after only the first hundred yards.

Ronon said nothing, so John continued. “Why’d you call me a cocksucker?”

“I didn’t,” Ronon said immediately. “I asked if you were.”

John rolled his eyes. “Well, okay, but why did you use that word? Why not gay, or homosexual, or something? It’s kind of offensive.”

Ronon dropped his head for a moment and when he raised it again, he was looking right at John. They were barely jogging now, both too caught up in the conversation. “Why him?”

John had gotten that question before. Rodney was hardly the easiest person to date, but John hated defending their relationship. Except, Ronon seemed more than just curious so John forced himself to answer truthfully. “Because I love him.”

Ronon didn’t look like he understood. “But why?”

John sighed. “Because he’s smart and funny and don’t tell him I said this but he’s beautiful too. He challenges me and accepts me for who I am, so I do the same.”

Ronon was openly staring now. John frowned and took off at a faster pace, not liking the look in the teens eyes.

Ronon didn’t follow.

John didn’t want to admit to himself how that frustrated him.

0o0o0o0

“My father said being gay was wrong.”

John jumped. He hadn’t noticed Ronon approach him. He’d been stretching on the field, working out the kinks that came from a long practice. He didn’t have a first period, so he always took as long as he wanted, liking the quiet of the empty grass. Apparently neither did Ronon, either that or he was skipping.

“He caught me kissing another boy,” Ronon was continuing.

John had heard that story before from some of his friends. David Parrish’s father still wouldn’t talk to him unless he absolutely had to. “What happened?”

Ronon didn’t answer. Finally, he said instead. “Tyre, that was his name. He died in the fire, too.”

“I’m sorry,” John said, and he really was. He couldn’t imagine losing Rodney. He didn’t want to imagine it.

Ronon grunted.

“My dad is in denial,” John said. “He knows I’m dating Rodney, but he thinks it’s just a phase.”

“It’s not,” Ronon raised an eyebrow.

“Nah,” John chuckled. “I’ve never liked girls.”

“Oh,” Ronon said. “I thought I did, but then Tyre…”

John definitely sympathized. “Teyla’s family won’t mind you know. It’s not wrong, and I don’t mean to insult your father,” especially since he’s dead, John thought, “but sometimes our parents just don’t get it. They were born to a different generation, you know.”

Ronon’s fists clenched and his jaw tightened. “I guess.”

They said nothing more after that. A couple minutes passed and then Ronon left. John went back to stretching, mind racing as fast as his legs wanted to.

0o0o0o0

The next time John found himself at the track in the morning, he did it with the sole purpose of finding Ronon. He was in luck; the larger teen was already running. John wondered how early Ronon came every day, but he pushed aside the question.

Ronon came to a stop in front of him before John even started to race after him. “You really love him?” he asked hesitantly.

“I really do,” John told him with utter conviction. “He’s everything to me.”

Ronon turned his head away, then back. John held his breath. This was it, he thought, if Ronon couldn’t except it then he would have to deal without the Atlantians. There were to many of them who were gay to have to be able to put up with bullshit like homophobia.

Ronon finally met John’s eyes and said simply, “okay.”

And just like that, John knew he’d made a friend. “Okay,” he repeated with a smile.

Ronon smiled too, then brought a hand up to touch his own cheek, as if surprised to find it there. John thought he probably hadn’t truly smiled since the fire.

“Let’s run,” John suggested.

Ronon nodded and set his pace besides John.

Together, they ran.


	5. The Painting

David Parrish could feel the edges of his cheeks starting to hurt, but he ignored the pain. He couldn’t help the smile that seemed stuck on his face. It had been there since yesterday, it had probably even stayed on while he was sleeping. And it was all because of his boyfriend, Evan Lorne.

That’s right, boyfriend. David grinned harder at the word. Evan had finally asked him out, after they’d spent weeks of dancing around the issue, yesterday before class. It had been one of the best moments of David’s life, right next to when he beat the high score on FarmvilleOnline and his eleventh birthday party.

David had been harboring a crush on Evan ever since the new football player had transferred to their school earlier that year. The teen was hot, in the sort of buff athletic way that David had always found attractive. Not only that, but he also had a great sense of humor and he didn’t seem to mind that David was a bit of nerd.

Normally geeks like David would never dare hang out with football players like Evan, but ever since the science club president, Rodney McKay, and the football captain, John Sheppard, started dating social norms had just fallen apart in Pegasus High.

David was certainly not complaining.

Now, David peeked his head into one of the art classrooms, hoping to spy his boyfriend working on his favorite hobby: painting. David was in luck, there was Evan dipping his paintbrush into a small cup of black goo. David crept slowly into the room, hoping to take the teen by surprise.

“Boo!” David said happily from right behind Evan.

“Hey, David,” Evan said calmly, as if he knew David had been there. David pouted.

“I can never sneak up on you,” he whined dramatically before flinging himself on a nearby chair.

“You want me to scream next time?” Evan asked with a half-smile as he added a wave to the ocean shore.

David looked at the painting with interest. It was another of Atlantis. Evan had first painted the city the weekend he’d finally been taken to see it all those months ago and now his paintings of it had a coveted market with the Atlantians. John, Rodney, Elizabeth, Carson, and David himself had all been gifted their own Atlantis paintings already. David was fairly sure that Dean was next on the list though he couldn’t be certain.

What amazed David was how uniquely different all of the paintings were. Different angles, different moods, different times of day. They all fit the person to whom they were given to. Rodney had shown his off the minute he’d received his and the intricacy of Atlantis’ main tower had fascinated the scientist in David and also apparently pleased Rodney extremely.

Dean’s, it seemed, was all about the majestic nature of Atlantis from afar. The city peeked from across the ocean, the surroundings gray and the waves strong but Atlantis still showed her beauty despite the near storm.

David’s was all about the hidden life, the couple of trees around the city, the vine that grew up one of the smaller towers. It made sense that David like his best. It made sense that he was proud that his boyfriend was the one who painted it.

“Today’s Friday,” Evan said after a moment.

David blushed. Friday. Their first date. “Yes,” he said finally.

Evan put a finishing touch on the sun hanging behind the stormy clouds and set down his brush. He stepped back before turning to David. “Want a ride home?”

“Yes!” David said more firmly. “I would love that.”

Thirty minutes later, as David walked into his house lips swollen and hair a complete mess, well, he knew he was truly happy.

0o0o0o0

Three months of bliss. Three months of dating and kissing and maybe a little bit more than that. Three months. David had never had a relationship last this long.

He should have known it couldn’t be perfect.

“You’re late,” David said, trying not to sound accusing and failing.

Evan gave him a startled look. The collar of his shirt was crooked and he had rings under his eyes. “Am I?” he asked, sounding as ridiculously mussed as his clothes were.

“Very,” David said. “You said three.”

He knew that he was overreacting just a bit, but what do you do when your boyfriend shows up an hour and a half late to your date looking as if he’d just gotten busy with someone in a public stall?

Okay so maybe David’s imagination was running a bit too high… but what was he supposed to think?

Evan finally sat down. “I’m sorry, David,” he said after a moment. “I lost track of time.”

“What were you doing?” David asked, not wanting to let it go just yet.

Evan hesitated. “Painting,” he finally announced.

He’d waited just a second too long to say it. “Painting?” David inquired. “I thought you finished with the Atlantis series. And that assignment you had for Vala’s class.”

“I did,” Evan frowned. “This is… personal.”

“Personal?” David mulled this over. “Can I see it?”

Evan looked for a moment like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um, no.”

“Evan,” David began. His heart was racing, but it was obvious that Evan was lying to him and he was never one to drag on a relationship that both parties weren’t interested in anymore. “If you don’t want me anymore, you just have to say so.”

“What?” Evan looked so startled that for a moment David thought he’d gotten it all wrong. “David?”

“Don’t lie to me,” David said, turning his face away. “Please, Evan.” He saw quickly as realization came over his boyfriend’s face.

“I’m not,” Evan insisted. “I care about you a lot, David. I don’t want to break up with you or whatever you’re implying.”

“Then why won’t you show me your painting?” David pleaded. He wanted desperately for the so-called project to be real, but he knew better. His father had cheated on his mother for thirteen months before she found out. He didn’t want to be that person, the one led along because of their feelings when said feelings weren’t returned and were in fact used against them.

“I just can’t,” Evan reached forward to grab David’s hand. “Please, David. I’ll make it up to you for being late. It won’t happen again, but don’t ask me to show you the painting, ‘kay?”

David almost said ‘no, it’s not okay’ but his heart was beating too loudly and finally he nodded.

The rest of their date went surprisingly well, but there was an elephant in the room and David couldn’t ignore it.

0o0o0o0

David’s birthday started like any other birthday. He got the usual amazing breakfast from his mom, the grunt of acknowledgment from his father, and the occasional good wishes from his friends. He didn’t get any present from the Atlantians, but considering they were having a party for him in a couple days that didn’t bother him.

What did bother him was that his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t at lunch, he wasn’t in the halls, he wasn’t even in their shared English class.

David didn’t want to think that Evan had forgotten his birthday. He’d been talking about it for weeks. He thought for a moment that Evan had gotten sick, but he’d looked fine the day before, if a bit tired.

Concerned, David began to ask around if anyone had seen him that day. It was John that finally nodded his head slowly. “He was at practice this morning, but he ran off to the art room pretty quick.”

The art room? David thought as he hurried down the hall. Why would Evan be in the art room?

David arrived finally, but something made him pause before he opened the door.

He heard voices.

“Do I look okay?” That was Evan’s voice. He sounded uncertain in a way that David had never heard before.

“You look gorgeous,” a female voice said sultrily. David nearly gasped. “Perfectly mussed. My kind of man.”

Evan laughed. “You’ve said that before.”

“I know,” she sounded smug. “That’s why I agreed to keep this little thing hidden for you.”

“Thanks,” Evan’s voice had quieted. “I couldn’t let him know, let him see…”

“I understand. But soon, yes? This isn’t going to stay in the art room forever,” the female sounded firm.

“Soon,” Evan agreed. “Today in fact. It’s his birthday, you know.”

“Ah, of course. I like the way you think, Evan,” the female said.

David didn’t stay to hear Evan’s reply. He fled, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. How dare that bitch steal his boyfriend? How dare Evan let her?

Evan remembered his birthday.

Evan was going to break up with him on his birthday.

David screamed low in his throat and began the long walk home. He couldn’t go to classes like this. He just couldn’t.

He’d never had his heart torn from his chest before.

0o0o0o0

David lay on his bed. There was light from the sunset glowing into his window illuminating the wall he was staring at. That wall held only one thing, Evan’s painting of Atlantis. He’d planned it that way. Before, the way that light reflected off the glossy strokes would have taken his breath away. It always had.

Before. That was the key word.

One day. It had only been one day. One day of avoiding and denying and trying to erase the memories. One day of grief.

How many times had Evan called him? Too many to count. Every other minute.

One full day. A cellphone full of voicemail, a broken heart.

One day.

David scowled at the painting and, before he could change his mind, he tore it off the wall. Tomorrow he’d give it back. He didn’t want it anymore.

He didn’t want to be reminded.

0o0o0o0

It was after school when David finally took the Atlantis painting out of his locker and snuck into the art room. No one was there. He had hoped it would be the case, Evan had football practice but he couldn’t be sure one of the other students wasn’t working on a project.

David tried not to think of all the good memories that came with the room. How many hours had he spent in this room, watching Evan paint until they were both so tired they could collapse?

Why had Evan chosen this room to keep his torrid little love affair a secret? David had liked this room.

Sighing, David weaved through the easels and made his way to the back table where Evan kept most of his projects. He frowned as he approached it. There was an easel that he didn’t remember set up on the back of the cleared surface. A loose cloth covered it. David set down his Atlantis painting and with curious hands threw the cloth off.

The first thing David’s eyes saw was Evan. He was turned towards the right of the painting, but still facing front enough so that David could see that his clothes were rumbled, his shirt mostly undone and his pants low-hanging. Painted Evan was facing a bed. His eyes were bright as he looked upon it, they almost seemed alive. David couldn’t help but follow the eyes to look upon the figure on the bed.

It was him. He lay on the bed, face flushed and shirt open in the front. His eyes were closed, head titled back to display his neck.

He looked beautiful.

Was that how Evan saw him?

David stumbled back and fell against the desk behind him. He stared at the painting, eyes watering. With trembling hands he straightened again, lifting the card that leaned against the painting’s side.

_Happy Birthday, David_

David choked on his tears and sniffed loudly.

“Who’s there?”

David turned, taking in the sight a female student he couldn’t place. He did, however, recognize her voice.

She frowned at him. “David, right? Hey, are you okay?”

She was pretty, very pretty, with strawberry blond hair and bright eyes. Not an Atlantian, David noted.

“Sora,” he realized. Sora, the ex-Genii who’d abandoned the biker gang and become entranced by Teyla’s yoga group.

Sora approached him slowly. “You are David, am I right?”

David nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

She smiled softly at him. “Did Evan send you to see? He’s been working on this painting forever. It’s his best work, even Vala agrees.”

“I-” David swallowed. “You were helping him?”

Sora nodded. “Oh yeah. He did you first, you know. Said that was the easy part, but he’s never like self-portraits and wanted me to make sure he got his own features right. I swear, he’d have me listen to him talk about you for hours just so I could describe the way his eyes look.” She turned to the painting, gazing at it fondly. “I’d say he got it down perfectly.”

“The mussed clothes,” David murmured. “You did that? So that he could get it right?”

“Oh, you saw that?” Sora snorted. “Vala walked in on us and was furious cause she thought I was seducing him. She supports your relationship, you know. It was hilarious once we’d explained to her.”

I’ve screwed up, David realized. I ruined a good thing because I was paranoid and jealous.

“What time is it?” David asked, jumping up.

“Um, just after five, why?” Sora asked.

“I need to go,” David told her. “Thank you for explaining things to me, Sora.”

He left quickly, practically running down the empty halls. Evan would be home by now, and just luck that his parents’ would both still be at work so they could be alone.

It took David twenty minutes to get to Evan’s house. Mostly because he’d just missed the correct bus and he’d had to wait anxiously at the stop. Finally though, finally he was at Evan’s house running up the sidewalk and through the always-open back door.

Evan was in his room, looking like he’d just showered when David barged in.

“David?” Evan asked and his voice broke just a little.

David flung himself on his boyfriend, kissing him within an inch of his life. Evan clung to him and before long they were on the bed. The bed Evan had painted.

David pulled back. “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I was stupid. I should have trusted you.”

“What happened, why were you avoiding me?” Evan asked, hurt coming through past the lust in his body.

“I overheard you and Sora talking on my birthday,” David revealed. “I thought…”

“You thought what?” Evan asked gently.

David turned his face away, embarrassed. “I thought you were cheating on me.”

Evan’s fingers came to rest on David’s shoulder. “Why?”

“Because you were spending so much time on that painting… and then you and Sora were talking about keeping something secret and I thought you didn’t like me anymore,” David said in a rush. “And I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough to ask you about it or something.”

“Me too,” Evan told him. Then he stilled. “How do you know about the painting?”

“I saw it,” David admitted. “I was so angry with you and I was going to give you back the Atlantis painting you gave me because it reminded me of you and then I saw the easel and I just had to look so I did and then Sora came and she explained everything and, oh god Evan I’m so sorry!”

David knew he was acting like a girl.  But hey, he was a teenage boy who may have just ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him so he was entitled to a few hysteric tears.

Evan kissed them away and held David close to him. “Okay,” he said in a shuddering breath. “Okay.”

David buried his face in Evan’s shoulder. “I didn’t want you to leave me,” he said. “I really really didn’t want to believe that you would cheat on me. But I saw my mom the day she found out what my father had been doing just break down. I didn’t want to be oblivious like her… so I made something out of nothing.”

Evan’s arms tightened. “I understand, David. I’m a little angry still that you didn’t trust me. But I understand.”

David closed his eyes tightly. “Are we still together?” he asked in a small voice. Oh how he wished that Evan would take him back. He’d messed up, it was his fault, he would accept if Evan didn’t want him anymore.

“Oh yeah,” Evan chuckled. The vibration of it sent a wave through David’s body and he relaxed. “I spent weeks on that painting, I wouldn’t want it to become worthless so soon.”

David smiled. “Definitely wouldn’t want that.”

Evan sighed. “Happy late birthday, love.”

David’s heart skipped a beat and his head came up to look at Evan. “Thanks, Evan. I mean it.”

Evan’s eyes were bright, just like in the painting, and now David knew what that expression was. “I know.”

And they kissed, on that bed in Evan’s room, with the sun peeking in through the windows, with their clothes wrinkled and their faces flushed.

And their eyes full of love.


	6. How the Wraith Stole Christmas

Christmas was Teyla’s favorite holiday. The holiday cheer, the festive songs, and of course, the presents. Now, Teyla wasn’t actually very materialistic, but the gift of giving was one of her favorite things in the world.

“Evan?” Teyla called, knocking on the door to one of Atlantis’ balconies, the one that Evan Lorne was often found painting upon.

“Come in,” she heard Evan’s voice call from inside.

Teyla pushed at the end of the door, sliding it open, and smiled at the sight of Evan at his easel, David Parrish, the football-playing painter’s boyfriend, sitting nearby. “Greetings, both of you.”

“Hey, Teyla,” David said. “How are you?”

Teyla’s ever-present, at least in this holiday month, smile widened into a grin. “Quite well, David, and yourself?”

“Great!” David exclaimed. “Evan’s painting Elizabeth’s Christmas gift.”

Teyla looked curiously at the easel. Evan had said early on that he had a perfect present for the Speech and Debate president, Elizabeth Weir, but this was the first she’d seen of it. The scene showed a rowboat, similar to the ones that the Atlantians used to get to and from Atlantis. On it, a silhouetted female figure sat facing the dock with the sunset behind her. It was still a ways from finishing, but Teyla could already tell that it was be gorgeous, and would suit the pensive Elizabeth perfectly.

“It is beautiful, Evan,” Teyla told him.

Evan smiled at her. “Thank you. I’m glad I started so early, though. I’ll have it finished with enough time to actually celebrate the holiday.”

David leaned back on his makeshift chair. “And spend some time with your lonely boyfriend.” He sighed melodramatically. “I’m beginning to think that I’ll have to go find companionship in someone who actually enjoys my company.”

Teyla laughed in her hand as Evan glared. “Anyways, Teyla,” he said with one last, warning, look at David. “Could you tell Shep I need some more of the blue paint I told him about.”

“I shall inform him,” Teyla nodded her head. “Happy holidays, Evan, David.” She handed them each a candy cane and left before they could thank her.

There were not that many left to find, Teyla thought as she clutched her small bag of peppermint candy canes. She found Elizabeth in the small spot near the center of the ruins they’d named Atlantis that the female had claimed as her office to study in.

“Hello, Teyla,” Elizabeth looked up from her textbook.

“Do you have many midterms left?” Teyla asked, coming to stand in front of her.

“Just the one, Government,” Elizabeth sighed. “You?”

“I have finished,” Teyla informed her. “Perhaps this will help you study,” she placed the candy on her book. “Good luck.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Elizabeth said. “Thank you, Teyla.”

Teyla inclined her head and left. She went in search of Radek Zelenka, hoping the Science Club vice-president would be in the lab area. He was not, she found out, as she instead caught sight of him in the lounge area, along with John and Rodney.

“Hey, Teyla,” John said as she entered the room. Rodney just grunted, entranced by something on his laptop.

“John, Rodney,” Teyla greeted. “Radek.”

Radek looked harried and gave her merely a wave. In front of him, a power box was open and he had his computer hooked up to it.

“What are you attempting?” Teyla asked, blinking.

“That idiot,” Rodney said. “Is trying to mess with, may I remind you, very fragile electrical outlets to get Atlantis to look more,” he scowled, “festive.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” John shrugged. “Would certainly liven up the place.”

Rodney scowled at his boyfriend, but it was much softer than the look he’d given Radek. Unwilling to interrupt, Teyla set the three candy canes in the middle of the center table.

The next day, Atlantis glowed with blinking splashes of green and red.

0o0o0o0

“Bring your hands together,” Teyla told her yoga club, the Athosians. “Good, now stretch out your right leg.”

Her muscles strained slightly, a lovely burn that spread through her body. Being both president on the yoga club and captain of the cheerleading squad was a combination she thought more should try. There was nothing quite like the calming stretch of yoga before the active flips of cheer.

Halling, her vice-president, made a gesture with his right hand. Teyla nodded, liking his suggestion. “Now, let us retreat back into our base position.” She did as she said, settling on her rear and crossing her legs, palms flat on her knees. There was a strange prickling the back of her neck and she closed her eyes, ignoring it. “Count your breaths aloud on the exhale, together with me.”

“One,” the Athosians intoned. “Two.”

The prickling worsened and Teyla found herself shifting slightly as if her body was preparing for attack. She was late on the twenty count, but luckily there were enough of them that it did not seem to be noticed.

“Stop,” Teyla commanded as they reached fifty. “Now, partner up.”

Halling came to her side immediately. “There is something wrong?”

Teyla felt the prickle intensify and she turned in the direction of its beam. The dark corner of the Farmland, Pegasus High’s center courtyard, was too shadowed for her to see from her position.

“Nothing,” Teyla told Halling. “All is well.”

0o0o0o0

Teyla caught the fist flying towards her, twisting his arm behind his back. Before she could complete the move, her legs were taken out from under her. She rolled with the move, flipping down to grab him at the knee.

Ronon landed with a grunt and grabbed at her, but Teyla was already standing, dancing on her toes out of his way. She brought her arms out in front of her, defensive as the large teen got to his feet.

He lunged and their arms smacked against each other, both attacking and defending. The only sound was of their heavy breathing and the connection of their fists. Then, Ronon feinted to the side and Teyla, not thinking, instinctively began to turn. Before she could correct her move, his arms was around her neck in a choke hold.

Teyla let herself go limp and he released her, turning to go over to their bags, a frown on his lips.

“There is something on your mind,” Teyla noted as Ronon wiped the sweat from his face. “You often get more aggressive when it is so.”

“Yeah,” Ronon grunted. “Shep asked me for money for Elizabeth’s pool.”

“You do not know our Christmas traditions,” Teyla realized. “I apologize, Ronon, that no one explained them to you.”

Ronon sat with a thud. “Then, explain.”

Teyla joined him. “Do you know what a Secret Santa present exchange is?”

“Where everyone puts their names in a hat and you draw who gives who a present?” Ronon raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know it.”

Teyla nodded. “On our first Atlantian Christmas, one of our members suggested a slight alteration on that exchange. Every person goes together to decide an individuals present for the year. The cost for the present is split, so as there is no need to worry about you getting someone a more or less expensive present than any other.”

“That sounds complicated,” Ronon said.

“Not as much,” Teyla told him. “Email is a lovely thing, but you must realize there are not as many of us as there could be.” She tilted her head. “We will all meet here on the day after Christmas to do our present giving. The day of is spent, for most of us, with our families.”

“So Shep’s in charge of Elizabeth’s present?” Ronon asked.

“Evan, actually is painting her gift. John is simply pooling money to get supplies for him to make it not all on Evan’s shoulders,” Teyla said.

“I need to check my Atlantis email,” Ronon muttered.

Teyla smiled at him. “Rodney is taking the server down tomorrow for maintenance,” she informed him. “But the next day.”

Ronon nodded, then got a strange look on his face. “Who suggested it?”

“What?” Teyla blinked.

“This way to do presents,” Ronon crossed his arms.

Teyla looked down at her hands. “Aiden Ford,” she said softly, remembering in her mind the boy as he had once been before his addiction took him away from them.

Ronon was silent for a moment, then he stood and stretched. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s spar.”

Teyla nodded.

0o0o0o0

There was only a week before Christmas and they’d finally managed, mostly with the help of Elizabeth’s rather wealthy parents, to get enough money to buy a large Christmas tree for Atlantis.

Teyla watched as Carson attempted to navigate the only motor boat they had, one of John’s father’s. “I want to be a doctor, not a bloody delivery boy!” she could hear the man shout, his family’s Scottish accent coming through.

There was something in the shadow of the cliffs that surrounded the bay that held the ruins of Atlantis. Teyla squinted her eyes, trying to see what it was.

“You’ve noticed it too?”

Teyla spun, heart beating as she stared at Dean Bates. The football player rarely talked to her, having not been fond of her joining in with the Atlantians back at the beginning, after Elizabeth and Marshall Sumner had first discovered the hideout. They’d gotten into a few fights over it and ever since then John had asked them to avoid each other.

“I do not know what it is,” Teyla admitted slowly.

“Neither do I,” Dean continued to look in the direction of the cliffs.

“So long as it is not the coastal watch, then I believe it should not matter,” Teyla said after a moment.

“Or the Wraith,” Dean raised an eyebrow.

“Or the Wraith,” she agreed.

0o0o0o0

There was only one main dock to get into Atlantis, but Teyla had always thought there would be more entrances if one truly needed to look. Even years after its discovery, they had not explored all their was to find in the ruins.

Despite its massive size, the Atlantians were not large in number and usually filled only a few rooms at a time. At the current, Teyla was not with the others.

The blinking red and green lights had created a path for her and she wondered at what point that they ended. They knew that the city did not have one hundred percent power, after all.

Teyla continued down, her hand running soothingly along the wall. She made note of the sections that were colder, knowing from Rodney’s rather irate lectures that they could be an indication of sections flooded or about to be so. Rodney was often brash, she’d noticed that early on, but he cared about and appreciated Atlantis, in her opinion, more than all of them. In the beginning, she thought the only one to have realized that was John Sheppard, but by now it was the unspoken knowledge of the Atlantians.

The lights ahead flashed in a different pattern from the usual. Teyla frowned, hands tracing over the oddity. The lights were usually a tone of three, Rodney’s touch she knew, but these were a continuous burst.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled, giving Teyla a second’s warning as she spun and kicked her leg out in a low sweep. The dark figure fell, but grabbed at her ankle, flipping her over his head.

Teyla landed against the wall with a smack, crying out. Her vision swam briefly, and then the figure approached her limp body and she jumped up into a front flip, colliding with him and knocking him down.

The overhead lights came on suddenly as Teyla sat firmly on the intruder’s chest. Dean rushed up first, John and Ronon not far behind. The latter two glared at the figure as Dean grabbed Teyla’s forearm, helping her up.

Teyla looked at the figure and found him to be one of the Wraith by the name of Todd. She leaned, just for a moment, shakily into Dean’s chest, and then pulled away to collect herself.

0o0o0o0

“Okay, Todd,” John said, standing in front of the Wraith. “This is how it’s going to go. You’re going to tell me the names of everyone you have told of this location and I’m will try not to kill you.”

Todd stared at John with dark eyes. “Is that so?”

“Don’t test my patience,” John told him darkly, reminding Teyla so severely of the night of hurricane when Koyla’s biker gang held Elizabeth and Rodney hostage on the dock that she tensed even farther.

“I have not informed my companions, and I will not, if you do something for me,” Todd said nastily.

Teyla could tell immediately that demands did not sit well with John. “And what would that be?” John asked dryly.

“I am transferring away from Pegasus for the next semester,” Todd informed them. “But the others…”

“They don’t want you to?” Evan blinked. “Why not?”

Teyla had forgotten how little Evan knew about the Wraith. Todd glared. “I need safety from the revenge they will undoubtedly wish to have upon me.”

“You’re transferring, you said so yourself,” John pointed out. “What can we do?”

“Not you, Sheppard,” Todd hissed. His eyes turned to Rodney and Teyla saw John stiffen. She shifted and saw as Dean did as well. They both knew of John’s irrational temper when it came to protecting Rodney.

Rodney stepped back. “What?” his voice squeaked slightly, belaying his fear.

“If you could get them to be unable to track my transfer,” Todd said. “I would be most,” he paused, eyes going between John and Rodney, “appreciative.”

John sucked in a breath and turned to his boyfriend. “How easy is that to do?”

Rodney seemed to temporarily forget his fear as his face screwed up in concentration. “Easy,” he said.

John seemed to struggle for a moment, but finally he nodded. “Fine.” And then he stepped forward, getting right up into Todd’s face. The Wraith barely blinked. “But you’d better keep your word.”

Todd put his hand on John’s chest and pushed him back. Ronon’s hand balled into a fist, but Teyla put a hand on his arm to stop him from attacking.

“Do not worry, John Sheppard,” Todd said. “So long as your boytoy keeps up his end of the bargain, so then shall I.”

Evan and Dean had to hold John back from socking the Wraith in the face, but it was Rodney that grabbed his face and forced him to look away. “Ignore him,” Rodney whispered harshly. “It’s Christmas Eve and I’m not letting some Grinch-wannaby ruin it, don’t let him.”

John relaxed and laughed. “Merry Christmas, Rodney,” he said and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.

Teyla turned away, a smile tugging at her lips.

0o0o0o0

“Merry Christmas!” They all said as the Atlantians settled around the large tree.

Teyla took a seat near Ronon and smiled at the happy group. This was her family, even beyond her parents and her cousins, it was the Atlantians that made her heart soar to look at on Christmas.

Elizabeth tucked her hot chocolate in closer and looked around. “I propose that we let our new members open their presents first.”

Evan and Ronon exchanged a glance. “You first,” Ronon told him.

Evan nodded and David leaped forward, grabbing a small, flat package and handing it to his boyfriend. Evan tore it open at the tape and blinked as he saw the brochure. “The National Museum of Art?” he blinked.

“Turn it over,” David said.

Evan did so that Teyla knew he was looking at the section that detailed the close opening of a teen section with works from students all over the country.

“We talked to Vala,” David told him, gesturing to all of them, “and she helped us send one of your pieces to the museum. They’ve accepted your art, Evan, you get to choose one to display in the new wing.”

Evan’s face was absolutely stunned. Teyla felt her heart swell further as Evan thanked them all.

Ronon was next and Teyla accepted the package as Dean handed it to her and gave it over to Ronon. He tore open the small present with much more ferocity then Evan and then stared as he saw the envelope. The top wasn’t sealed, so it was easy for him to find the photos inside.

“We have decorated your room,” Teyla told him. “We hope it is to your liking.”

The large teen was never very expressive, so as they saw him nod, his lips shut, they knew that the pictures of his family and his old friends hanging on his wall, as well as one large picture of the Atlantians, had affected him deeply.

Elizabeth came next, delighting over her painting, and then John with an collection of Johnny Cash’s entire works. David got a number of extremely hard to find seeds and Carson an addition to the small genetics lab that he’d put on Atlantis. Dean, who had always wanted to be an enforcer, got a number of top end investigation supplies. Radek, his eyes misty, clutched the first edition folktale book written in his native language as if it would disappear.

“I’m next!” Rodney announced.

John stood and went into the other room, coming back with a half-wrapped cage. Rodney tore off the rest of the paper and his jaw dropped. “This…”

“We got your parent’s permission,” John told him. “She doesn’t have a name yet.”

Rodney opened the cage and took out the small kitten, petting the squirming creature with a sort of reverence that anyone who wasn’t one of the Atlantians would have been shocked to see. “Lana,” he announced. “After Atlantis.”

Teyla studied the blue-grey kitten and agreed with his choice.

“You’re last, Teyla,” Elizabeth said as Rodney continued to coo over his new pet.

Teyla accepted the large bag and pulled out the tissue paper, setting it aside. One at a time, she took out each of her new tea cups and gasped as each one displayed scenes more beautiful that the last. There, an etched seagull perched on a rock, and there a boat crested a wave, and then there the sun setting over the ocean’s horizon.

The last, the large tea kettle, showed a perfect scene, the tide coming into a cliff-side beach, sunlight shining through the wave as it began to descend.

Teyla’s throat closed. “Thank you,” she told the awaiting faces. “They are perfect.”

“A Merry Christmas, then,” John said.

Teyla couldn’t agree more.


End file.
